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Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Custom Sandals for the Duggars

When in Athens, buying custom sandals is the thing to do. During their honeymoon in Greece, Joe and Kendra Duggar visit a third generation sandal maker, who fits them each with a pair of leather sandals (video below). Apparently "Kendra has perfect feet, but Joe, not so perfect."

For sure. I worked in a shop where we were required to wear steel toed shoes. Those things saved my feet from injury several times. If anyone in the shop wasn't wearing proper footwear and got a foot injury, not only were they reprimanded but they weren't eligible for worker's comp. What Joy does in her home is her business but if she's injured she's paying the price for her actions.

They were a Roman invention yes but the Greeks embraced the games as well. Those two cultures were so intertwined there is very little that can be said to belong to just the Romans or just the Greeks. I do think we should study these cultures more though. It’s not only important to understanding western civilization but the Bible as well. After all he New Testement was written in Greek and the early churches were mainly made up of Roman citizens. I was a little bummed that the Duggars couldn’t name any characters from Greek Mythology. I mean, the worship of Aphrodite was a problem in Corinth that Paul had to address so there is not biblical reason not to study it.

I majored in history in college. And there are a LOT of people who do confuse the two. But that’s still no excuse. They should have studied up on the places they were visiting so they didn’t look like dumb tourists.

I homeschool and Belong to a great community that teaches all sorts of history. Not just American. In fact, we will be learning about the Greeks and studying up on different countries and cultures. I'm excited to teach my son this and learn more myself :)

Anon @ 1:46 The idea of sporting comptitions was a Greek idea and of course the most famous being the origins of the modern olympic games. The Roman tradition of gladiators was theirs alone. Greek civilization had an almost 1000 year head start on the Romans, and the Romans borrwed heavily from the Greeks.

Anon 7:31 I stand by what I said. I’m aware the Greeks were ahead of the Romans and the Romans borrowed heavily from them. I also know they created the Olympics and it was a much more athletic and civilized set of games as opposed to the gladiator games. My point was that the Greeks embraced the Roman gladiator and didn’t stand idly by whole the Romans had all the gory glory. This is a quote from a schlorly article about the Greek influence on the gladiators.

Concerning the driving forces of the process, the theory of Romans pushing forward the spread of gladiatorial games is not convincing; the Greeks themselves seem to have adopted the gladiatorial games eagerly. The organization of gladiatorial schools, the social origins of gladiators and the life expectancy might have been the same in east and west, but in other respects the gladiatorial games were transformed by the contact with Greek traditions. An analysis of gravestones reveals that Greek gladiators presented themselves as being very similar to athletes – the gravestones praised their beauty and their propinquity to heroes. The spread of gladiatorial games in the Greek world, therefore, represents not only a process of acceptance and appropriation, but also of reinterpretation.

All in all...it’s not ridiculous to assume sandals bought in Greece would be in the gladiator style.

Oh brother, Joe and Kendra take a nice honeymoon in Greece and buy a pair of sandals and all people want to do is argue about the origin of the sandals. The scenery was beautiful, great fun watching them try new things, their love developing while it’s just the two of them away from home. The sandals were simply a souvenir from their trip. Gosh people can be so petty.

You know, I normally don't see it but I really can't relate to this. I have been living in a slum in Africa for over a year and the more I am around people with needa the more I have trouble with things like this. I feel like this isn't a mission. Most Christians in service of the Lord are not blessed with such luxury. But then again, luxury isn't a blessing.

I don't think the trip to Greece was intended to be a mission. It was a honeymoon. But the custom sandals did seem a bit strange to me. I wouldn't have wanted to waste my time doing that as there are so many historical things to see in Greece.

Even the wealthy have needs, though they don't always know it. It is very easy to see a mission to those in poverty but not so easy to see the "poverty" of the wealthy. Everyone needs to see that a life lived with Jesus is joyful whether we have a lot of wealth or nothing. Africans in physical poverty may not relate to this programme but those in western cultures will be able to relate.

Hi. I am 7:17 am anon. We have a computer lab. We have internet. I work remotely from my room in the slum. We have served food to about 250 kids a day for the last year. The only difference between me and the kids is the quality of education and my computer skill but that is fixable. Anyway, I know it isn't a mission trip but I have thought of the show as a mission which is why I thought the sandals take away from that feel.

@7:22 The person could be working with the local people and hence, shares their living conditions. He or she would then have access to a computer and/or cell phone. The slums in African cities are not devoid of all modern communication systems.

Africans are NOT as computer illiterate as you may think. Owning a cheap cell phone is very common, even among those you think live a more traditional life. They use the cell phones for grassroots businesses of trading etc.

The poster may be originally from a Western Country like the US or GB and has "heard" of the Duggars. Although the poster was incorrect about the honeymoon being a mission, he/she is correct about one thing. Most aide workers, Christian or otherwise, do not have the luxury to take month long exotic trips. They live very simply, in keeping with their "missions" to be in service for others.

I'm honestly not sure why anyone would compare a mission to a honeymoon. Also, I know this is a bit simplistic but people in Africa choose to live in slums. They could spread out through their countries but they like to live in huge cities in close quarters. Also, they have such large numbers that they could overturn their corrupt governments. They have had hundreds of years of access to missions and their lives have not changed even the slightest. Life does not change for those people when someone from the West goes to do a mission.

@anon8:29pm. Well, in attempting to be simplistic I am hoping you misstated your points. People do not choose extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is when people live without running water or elctricity. There is food insecurity and substandard education. What do I mean by suubstandard? Think about being in 4th grade and not able to spell your name. Imagine being 13 years old and not knowing the use of a bedsheet. As for missions, certainly are more about selfies but many are not. I tend to take a broad view of mission. So long as your heart is respoding to another's need then it is a mission. For example, a five year old boy can go on mission to his elderly neighbor's house to help carry the groceries from the car to the house. I think the poster was getting at the use of the tv program like a mission. A mission to show God's love through life and that's why the sandals fell flat for the poster?

@8:29. I suggest you educate yourself about the very profound issues facing African States,including ongoing wars,climate change, economic and political colonism with its abuse and appropriation of natural resources and tribal and cultural divides. The West has a great deal to answer for.

8:29 Anon - "People in Africa choose to live in slums." That is one of the worst statements I've ever read on this blog, or anywhere else for that matter.

But as far as your last statement there, which has a tad more truth to it, now do you see why those "mission" trips the Duggars take are viewed as totally ineffective? If hundreds of years didn't make a difference, what difference will a one-week visit make? Or a few months, especially when you don't speak the local language and you won't even stay there except between family weddings and other events that bring you home?

Anon 10:17 How in the world is the conditions in Africa a West problem? Those issues have been going on in Africa way before any western nation came near them. How about Africa takes personal responsibility for the tribal wars going on in Africa. The western nations have tried to do a lot to help them, how about they try helping themselves instead of passing the blame to us again. West has a lot to answer for huh? We are the most giving place on earth.

Why does this have to be an either/or? While I don't agree with the anon who seems to blame ALL of Africa's problems on the West, the colonization of Africa by Western countries certainly did NOT help whatever social issues already existed there.

Also of note, "Africa" is a very large continent with many different countries, tribes, cultures, etc. Egypt is very different from Nigeria which is very different from Ethiopia, South Africa, the Sudan, etc. And I'd think different countries have different problems and different solutions.

Hello? Is it not ok to do something out of the ordinary when you go on a trip, like buying custom sandals? I'm pretty sure they didn't say, "We went to Greece to buy custom sandals for our honeymoon." There is no law that says you can't try something new on a foreign honeymoon. I and my friends went to a western stock show to check out the animals and attend a rodeo. We certainly weren't planning on dressing up for old fashioned pictures, but since we hadn't done that before, we stopped at the booth and dressed up in old fashioned clothes and wala! We had a fun a different souvenir to bring home with us! We certainly didn't get a bunch of backlash for it either, people wondering if we were "for real." Just a little something to consider..

I would totally buy authentic leather Greek sandals if I were in Greece! I think it's a cool thing to do! and its cool how he fits them to their feet. It's not like walking into a payless and picking up a pair... there's history and custom behind it. Plus they are just nice looking sandals. However I don't think Joe will get much use out of his... ;)

Relax. The producers couldn't think of anything else to have this couple do on a honeymoon that could still be filmed for family viewing. The producers like to set the honeymooners up with some sort of crazy activity, no matter where they are. Cooking, hang-gliding, who did chocolate? and so on. Now we add sandals to that list.

this is such a cute couple. I was surprised to hear Kendra call Joseph "babe" so often like JInger used to do when she was courting Jeremy. I was also interested to find out that Joseph is getting his realtor's license and also continues to work at the car lot.

I wish everyone would stop the sandal put down and negativity. Cmon, it was a neat souvenir to take home! If you all would’ve went to a country you would’ve brought home a souvenir of your choice also. Sandals were their choice. I think they picked a pretty neat choice myself. A real life sandal maker is pretty choice. Not even from a factory/mall if you will/ but from a real persons hands. Lovely, joe and Kendra!

I love Kendra and Joe, they are such a sweet couple. The sandal maker was such a great guy, so friendly and nice and what a cute dog. Kendra's sandals looked really good on her and Joe looked cool with rolled up pants and sandals. They picked an amazing honeymoon destination, Greece is so beautiful.

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